Christopher Fitzgerald (actor)

Last updated
Christopher Fitzgerald
Christopher Fitzgerald at the premiere of Imogene, Toronto Film Festival 2012.jpg
Christopher Fitzgerald at the premiere of Imogene at Toronto Film Festival in 2012
Born
Christopher Cantwell Fitzgerald

(1972-11-26) November 26, 1972 (age 51)
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1980–present
Known for Waitress
Young Frankenstein
Wicked
Spouse
Jessica Stone
(m. 2003)
Children2

Christopher Cantwell Fitzgerald (born November 26, 1972) is an American actor and singer. He is known for his role as Boq in the musical Wicked , Igor in the musical Young Frankenstein , and Ogie Anhorn in the musical Waitress . He earned Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award nominations for his performances in Waitress and Young Frankenstein and won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in Waitress.

Contents

Early life

Fitzgerald was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the son of Victoria D. Field, who worked for the American Kennel Club, and James W. Fitzgerald, Jr., a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker. [1] He grew up in South Portland, Maine and attended Waynflete School in Portland in 1991. [2] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He is a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He also gained a master's degree in Fine Arts from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

He studied "techniques of clowning but also mime and storytelling, singing and comedy and everything. Juggling, balancing" at the Celebration Barn with Tony Montanaro in Maine. [3]

Career

Theatre

Fitzgerald started his acting career in 1980, at the age of eight, when he appeared as the youngest boy in Portland Player's production of Oliver! . From that time on, he worked steadily in community theater and Maine's New Vaudeville shows. In college, he began his career as a summer apprentice at Williamstown Theater Festival. At age 26, in 1998, he starred in his first off-Broadway show, the controversial Corpus Christi by acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally. In the same year, he also appeared in The Matchmaker by Williamstown Theatre Festival, as well as an off-Broadway staging of The Cripple of Inishmaan . [4]

During the following year, Fitzgerald appeared in the Sondheim-Weidman musical Wise Guys . He also performed in a production of Babes in Arms , produced by Encores! in the New York City Center. [4]

In 2000, Fitzgerald co-starred in the 1954 Sondheim musical Saturday Night . [4] His performance in this show earned him his first award nomination, for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. [5] Also in 2000, Fitzgerald played the lead role in the one-man show Fully Committed, appearing until 2001. [4]

In 2002, Fitzgerald opened in the musical Amour , adapted from a 1943 French short story written by Marcel Aymé. He performed from October 20, 2002 until November 3, 2002. His performance earned him another nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. [5] On October 30, 2003, Fitzgerald premiered in the musical Wicked in the role of Boq. He departed the role on January 2, 2005 and was replaced by Jeffry Kuhn.

Fitzgerald was seen in Gutenberg! The Musical! directed by Alex Timbers from December 3, 2006, and ran until May 6, 2007. [6] He appeared as the character "Igor" in the Broadway production of the Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein , which opened on Broadway in November 2007. For the role he received an Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Fitzgerald also played Igor in the musical's out-of-town tryouts in Seattle. During rehearsals for the show his wife gave birth to their first child, a boy named Charlie. Fitzgerald played his final performance as Igor in Young Frankenstein on November 23, 2008. [7]

Fitzgerald played the title role in the world premiere of the burlesque-style musical Minsky's , in Los Angeles, which played at the Center Theatre in Ahmanson Theatre from January 21 – March 1, 2009, and also starred his former Young Frankenstein co-star Beth Leavel. [8]

He played Og in the Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow at the St. James Theatre. For this performance, Fitzgerald won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He and his wife also gave birth to a second child, a boy named Emmett. [9] He also once more received an Outer Critics Circle Award May 2010 and a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

He starred as Pseudolus in an all-male production of Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in his tenth season with the Williamstown Theatre Festival. The sold-out show closed on July 11, 2010. In November 2010 to February 2011 he played Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice on Broadway. [10]

He starred as P.T. Barnum in Barnum , revived by Cameron Mackintosh, premiering at the Chichester Festival Theatre in Chichester, West Sussex, UK from July 15 through August 31, 2013.

He played the role of Amos Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago , beginning October 28, 2013 and leaving on June 8, 2014. He then started playing Billy Flynn in the same production from August 5 to November 30, 2014.

In 2014, he was in a concert version of Guys and Dolls at Carnegie Hall playing Benny Southstreet. [11] At the Williamstown Theatre Festival in July 2014 he played the role of Benny Fox in its production of June Moon. [12] Christopher played the archangel Michael in the production of An Act of God starring Jim Parsons from May - August 2015 .

In March 2016, he joined the cast of Broadway transfer Waitress, playing the role of Ogie and stayed with the production on and off through 2021. [13] In 2021, he also played David in the Broadway revival of Company. [14] He played Patsy, Guard 2 and the Mayor in the 2023 Broadway revival of Spamalot . [15]

Films

Fitzgerald's first film role was a bit part in the movie Boiler Room starring Vin Diesel and Ben Affleck. His next part was in the movie Personal Velocity: Three Portraits as Greg. Personal Velocity won two awards at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, including Best Cinematography. [16]

Fitzgerald starred in 2012's Girl Most Likely alongside Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening, Matt Dillon and Darren Criss.

He was also in the professionally shot stage recording of the musical Waitress reprising his role of Ogie.

Television

On the television show Twins on The WB, Fitzgerald played the character of Neil, beginning in 2005. The show was cancelled on May 18, 2006, following the merger of The WB and UPN that created the new network The CW.

He appeared in full costume as an adult Cabbage Patch doll in a Geico insurance commercial. [17]

In 2017, Fitzgerald played the role of J.J. Valentine in the Netflix limited series Godless, [18] and played children's entertainer/child trafficker Sonny Shine in the SyFy fantasy black comedy crime series Happy! .

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResult
2000 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Saturday Night Nominated
2003 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Amour Nominated
2008 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Musical Young Frankenstein Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a MusicalNominated
Broadway.com Audience AwardFavorite Featured Actor in a Broadway MusicalWon
2010 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Musical Finian's Rainbow Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Won
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a MusicalNominated
2016 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Musical Waitress Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Won
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a MusicalWon

Related Research Articles

<i>Saturday Night</i> (musical)

Saturday Night is a 1955 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Julius J. Epstein, based on the play, Front Porch in Flatbush, written by Epstein and his brother Philip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Lane</span> American actor (born 1956)

Nathan Lane is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been seen on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. Lane has received numerous awards, including three Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, the Olivier Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Lane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, The New York Times hailed Lane as "the greatest stage entertainer of the decade".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Grey</span> American actor, singer, dancer, director, and photographer (born 1932)

Joel Grey is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret on Broadway and in Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. He earned the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Robert Brown</span> American songwriter

Jason Robert Brown is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on Parade and The Bridges of Madison County.

Roger Bart is an American actor and singer. He won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his performance as Snoopy in the 1999 revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Mays</span> American actor

Lewis Jefferson Mays is an American actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Obie Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Rubinstein</span> American actor, composer, director (b. 1946)

John Rubinstein is an American actor, composer and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian d'Arcy James</span> American actor and musician

Brian d'Arcy James is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in Shrek The Musical, Nick Bottom in Something Rotten!, King George III in Hamilton, and the Baker in Into the Woods, and has received four Tony Award nominations for his work. On-screen, he is known for his recurring role as Andy Baker on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, Officer Krupke in West Side Story, and reporter Matt Carroll in Spotlight.

Euan Douglas George Morton is a Scottish actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Boy George in the musical Taboo, receiving nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award for his performance. He played the role of King George in the musical Hamilton on Broadway from July 2017 to September 10, 2023.

John Doyle is a Scottish stage director of musicals and plays, as well as operas. He served as artistic director at several regional theatres in the United Kingdom, where he staged more than 200 professional productions during his career spanning over 40 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raúl Esparza</span> American actor

Raúl Eduardo Esparza is an American actor and singer. Considered one of Broadway's most prominent leading men since the 2000s, he is best known for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Bobby in the 2006 Broadway revival of Company and for his television role as New York Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Rafael Barba in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where he had a recurring role in Season 14 and was promoted to a series regular in Seasons 15 to 19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Leavel</span> American actress

Beth Leavel is an American stage and screen actress and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Anderson (actor)</span> American actor and singer

Eric Anderson is an American actor and singer. On Broadway, he has originated roles in Waitress, Kinky Boots, The Last Ship, Rocky, and Soul Doctor, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He portrayed Mr. O’Malley in The Greatest Showman (2017).

<i>Young Frankenstein</i> (musical) Musical

Young Frankenstein is a musical with a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, and music and lyrics by Brooks. It is based on the 1974 comedy film of the same name written by Gene Wilder and Brooks who also directed and has described it as his best film. It is a parody of the horror film genre, especially the 1931 Universal Pictures adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and its 1935 and 1939 sequels, Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Baldwin</span> American singer

Katherine Baldwin is an American singer and actress known for her work in musical theater. She received a Tony Award nomination for her work in the 2009 Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow. She also co-starred opposite Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, and Gavin Creel in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!, for which she received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle award nominations for her work as the saucy millineress Irene Molloy. Baldwin continued with the production until it closed in August 2018.

Brooks Ashmanskas is an American actor. He has appeared both on Broadway and Off-Broadway as well as in regional theatres. Ashmanskas has done limited film and television work, most recently appearing in the Netflix series Uncoupled. He was nominated for a 2006 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for playing various characters in Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, and for a 2019 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Barry Glickman in The Prom.

Jessica Ruth Mueller is an American actress and singer. She started her acting career in Chicago and won two Joseph Jefferson Awards in 2008 and 2011 for her roles as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel and Amalia Balash in She Loves Me. In 2011, she moved to New York City to star in a Broadway revival of musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She went on to receive two additional Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award nominations for her leading roles in Waitress (2016) and the Broadway revival of Carousel (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Cordero</span> Canadian actor and singer (1978–2020)

Nicholas Eduardo Alberto Cordero was a Canadian actor and singer. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Cheech in the 2014 Broadway musical Bullets Over Broadway and was twice nominated for Drama Desk Awards. His career also included television and film roles.

<i>Waitress</i> (musical) 2016 musical by Sara Bareilles

Waitress is a musical with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson. The musical is based on the 2007 film of the same name, written and directed by Adrienne Shelly. It tells the story of Jenna Hunterson, a baker and waitress in an abusive relationship with her husband, Earl. After Jenna unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she begins an affair with her doctor, Dr. James (Jim) Pomatter. Looking for ways out of her troubles, she sees a pie baking contest and its grand prize as her chance.

<i>Waitress: The Musical</i> (film) American musical film

Waitress: The Musical is a 2023 American musical comedy-drama film consisting of a live stage recording of Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson's 2015 musical of the same name, based on the 2007 film of the same name written by Adrienne Shelly.

References

  1. "WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Jessica Stone, Christopher Fitzgerald" The New York Times (registration required), August 24, 2003
  2. Keyes, Bob. "Three with Maine ties get Tony nod" Portland Press Herald , May 5, 2010
  3. Herstein, Beth. "Interview with Christopher Fitzgerald", talkinbroadway.com, November 5, 2009, accessed May 29, 2016
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Hollywood.com Biography" hollywood.com, accessed September 3, 2011
  5. 1 2 "Listing" Internet Broadway Database, accessed September 3, 2011
  6. Jones, Kenneth. "Award-Nominated 'Gutenberg! The Musical!' Will Close May 6 in NYC" Playbill.com, April 26, 2007
  7. Jones, Kenneth."Hump Day: Cory English Is Young Frankenstein's New Igor, Starting Nov. 25" Playbill.com, November 19, 2008
  8. Jones, Kenneth. "Fitzgerald, Leavel, Cariani, Dratch, Wendt Signed for Minsky's World Premiere" Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, December 4, 2008
  9. Gans, Andrew."'Red', 'Memphis', 'Bridge', 'Fences' and 'La Cage' Win Drama Desk Awards" Archived 2014-03-02 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, May 23, 2010
  10. Hetrick, Adam. "'The Merchant of Venice', With Al Pacino, Returns to Broadway Feb. 1" Playbill.com, February 1, 2011
  11. Guys and Dolls cast
  12. Giuliano, Charles. "'June Moon' Brightens Williamstown" berkshirefinearts.com, July 4, 2014
  13. "Bullets Over Broadway Star Nick Cordero Joins Broadway-Bound Waitress Musical". playbill.com. Playbill. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  14. Company (Broadway, Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 2021)
  15. Spamalot cast
  16. "Fitzgerald Credits" Internet Movie Database.com, accessed September 3, 2011
  17. Kennedy, Mark."Juggling roles of father, Igor isn't a monster task" LATimes.com, February 15, 2008
  18. "'Godless' Adds Sam Waterston, Kim Coates, More; Scoot McNairy Confirmed". Deadline. September 6, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.